Daze of Summer
by illrain666
Summary: A summer romance. Kyro


Daze of Summer

Kitty Pryde opened her eyes and smiled. She stretched languorously on her bed, enjoying the hush of the early morning and the soft warmth of the sunlight streaming into the room through the half-open window. It was the first day of summer, and she had the entire Institute to herself.

Her parents had wanted the three of them to spend the summer vacationing in Europe, but she had told them to go on without her and to have that second honeymoon they used to talk about instead. She knew that her folks had been having problems lately, though they were always very careful to conceal it from her. She figured that missing out on Europe was a small price to pay for the sake of her parents' happiness. So that they wouldn't worry about her while they were gone, and because she didn't feel up to spending the entire summer with her Aunt Rachel and her teen diva Cousin Toni, she had asked for Professor Xavier's permission to stay in school and he had kindly agreed.

All the other students had gone home already, as had most of the teachers. The Professor, with Miss Grey and Mr. Summers, had left just yesterday for some sort of conference in Scotland. The only member of the faculty still in school was Miss Munroe. She was in charge of the mansion in the other teachers' absence but she told Kitty that as long as Kitty didn't make any mess, then she wouldn't mind whatever the young girl would get up to. It was, after all, summer.

Humming cheerfully to herself, Kitty got out of bed. She made her way to the bathroom and took a long shower, feeling completely refreshed and bright-eyed once she was done. She then headed back to her room, idly brushing her damp hair while she walked. She was really enjoying not having to worry about running into other students while she was wearing her Astro Boy robe, an article of clothing that had earned her a lot of teasing from her schoolmates. Feeling really good about the solitude, she decided to take a shortcut and phased through several rooms across her way so she wouldn't have to navigate the long hallways.

Then she stopped dead.

John Allerdyce, wearing nothing but a towel, was _prancing_ in his room.

_"She's my heaven. She's a spark. Feels like heaven, so knock me up. You really knock me up. You really knock me up," _he sang in a horribly off-key voice. He must have just taken a shower, too, since his tousled hair was still very wet and there were beads of water clinging to his skin. He posed like a rockstar in front of the mirror and then whirled around playing an imaginary guitar.

"Jesus fuck!" he suddenly shouted in surprise when he saw her standing there.

Kitty was mortified. "I am so sorry," she stammered, blushing so furiously she was convinced that her entire body had turned red.

The two of them just gaped at each other for a long tense moment. Then an angry scowl came over John's face. "What are you doing here?" he yelled. "Get out!"

"I'm sorry!" she repeated then turned and ran out of there.

Once she was safely in her own room, the shock of the incident quickly passed and she bubbled over with laughter. Oh, God! Did that really just happen? Did she really just see John Allerdyce, the school's bad boy, half-naked and doing – whatever it was that he was doing? John Allerdyce, the always so cool and broody, goofing around like any other teenaged boy? Oh, Jubilee and Rogue would never believe that she had seen that!

Then, she sobered instantly. Oh, God! She had seen him like that! She had caught him in an embarrassing situation! _He was going to kill her!_

Everyone knew John, or Pyro as he preferred to be called, had a mean temper. The smallest things could set him off and he never forgave even the most minor of infractions without getting some sort of revenge first. The way he had looked at her earlier definitely meant trouble for her immediate future.

"I guess I have to apologize to him again," she thought with trepidation, "and somehow convince him not to cause any permanent damage."

She dressed quickly and headed down to the kitchen. Miss Munroe had told her that they would be taking their meals there since it didn't make any sense to use the huge dining hall. Once she got there, her heart started to pound faster anxiously when she saw that John Allerdyce was seated at the table already.

He watched her with hooded eyes as she took the only other chair available, which was right across from him. She gulped.

"Good morning, Kitty," Miss Munroe greeted her. "Here. Have some pancakes."

"Thank you. Good morning to you, too." She smiled at the older woman then turned to smile at John as well. He just looked at her. Her smile faded.

"Well, I'm sure the two of you know each other," Miss Munroe beamed at them both. "John will also be staying here for the summer, so I do hope you guys won't give me too much of a headache."

"Oh, no trouble, at all," Kitty assured her. Pyro still hadn't spoken. In fact, he stayed silent during the entire meal, ignoring the conversation of the two females. Kitty just knew that he was plotting her demise.

"The cleaning staff will still be coming in," Miss Munroe told them after all the pancakes had vanished. "But only three times a week. The cook, though, won't be coming back till the start of the new term. I don't mind preparing our meals every day but I hope it's okay with you guys if you take turns doing the dishes."

"It's okay with me," Kitty replied immediately.

John nodded after a second. "Sure."

"I'll go first," she offered.

"No. I'll go first," he said.

"All right." Miss Munroe laughed. "You two slug it out. Lunch will be at twelve here. In the meantime, I'll be in my office cleaning out all my junk." She left the two of them in the kitchen.

"You know, it's really okay," Kitty told John. "You can go. I'll do the dishes."

He gave her a long, hard stare. Then he shrugged. "Whatever." He walked out of the kitchen without another word.

Kitty realized she had been holding her breath in nervousness. She exhaled in relief as soon as Pyro disappeared from sight.

It was going to be a _long_ summer.

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_"Parked car. This night sky makes city lights shine like diamonds."_

Kitty was shocked into wakefulness by the sudden loud music. She was so startled that she unthinkingly phased through her bed and through the floor. "What the hell?!" When she heard the angry exclamation, she realized that she had also phased somebody else with her. And that she was wearing headphones for some reason.

_"You!"_ John Allerdyce, of course. And caught red-handed with the guilty cd player. He got on his feet and had the nerve to glare at _her. _

"What the hell did you do that for?" he demanded. "That was fucking weird!" He shivered as he remembered the strange sensation of phasing through matter.

She yanked the headphones off and threw them at him. "You – Is this your idea of payback? Very lame, Pyro!" she spat out.

"And who said that this is the actual payback for you embarrassing me this morning?" he snapped. "No! This is just practice!"

"Grow up, will you? I've already apologized for that! And it wasn't like I did it on purpose."

"Pryde." He came nearer and stood over her menacingly. "Let's make a deal. You never, ever tell anyone about that little scene you saw, and I won't make your summer hell. What do you say?"

"You're nuts," she told him. "You're blowing this all out of proportion. So what if I saw you prancing in your room half-naked? Big deal! Like it was the highlight of my life!"

"I – wasn't – _prancing_!"

"Okay. Fine. You weren't. Now can we end this conversation? I'd like to go back to bed." She phased through the air and back up to her room. She was still seething over his childish prank, however, and she spent the rest of the night sleeping on and off. When morning came, she was very grumpy from the lack of sleep. She barely forced a passable greeting to Miss Munroe when she came down for breakfast.

"Good morning!" Pyro sang out in a disgustingly cheerful manner when he came into the kitchen. "Hope everyone had a good night's sleep." Miss Munroe was amused at his obvious good mood. "You're very up today, John," she observed.

"Yes, I am." He grinned at Kitty and she scowled at him. "It's my turn to do the dishes," he said once breakfast was over and Miss Munroe rose to leave. After their teacher had gone, Kitty confronted him. "You're planning something, aren't you?" she accused.

"I'm not planning anything," he told her. "I'm already doing it."

"And what is that?"

"Annoying the hell out of you," he replied. "You see, I thought that this summer was going to be very boring. Then when I found out you were also gonna be staying here, at first, I didn't like the idea. But then I realized that I could have a lot of fun with you around."

"What? You intend to spend the rest of the summer torturing me?" Kitty was starting to see red.

"That's the plan," he nodded.

"You immature –!" Losing her temper completely, she threw a bottle of syrup at him. It hit him on the head.

"Ow!" He looked furious. "You're gonna pay for that!"

Kitty broke into a run, Pyro following close on her heels. She had an idea and she allowed him to grab hold of her. "Ha!" he cried out in triumph. Then she phased the two of them through a wall and she passed right through his arms. He suddenly found himself solid again, and trapped.

"Ha!" It was her turn to grin at him.

"Pryde, you get me out of here right now!" He was so furious he looked like he was having a fit.

She seemed to think about it for a minute, then she shook her head. "No," she said airily. She turned her back on him and started to walk away.

"Pryde!" Something in his voice alarmed her and she looked back over her shoulder.

A fireball was coming right at her.

Oops, she had forgotten to take away his lighter. She had enough presence of mind to phase and the thing just passed through her harmlessly. It exploded against the wall and a painting caught fire. The smoke detectors let out a shrill alarm almost instantly.

She stared at Pyro, stunned. "You threw a _fireball _at me!"

_"You stuck me in a wall!"_

"I can't believe you threw a fireball at me!"

"I gave you fair warning!"

Just then, Miss Munroe arrived at the scene with a fire extinguisher. "Good Lord!" She put out the flames consuming the painting then gave each of them a look that almost drew blood. "What happened here?" she wanted to know.

"It was _his_ fault!"

"It's _her_ fault!"

They both spoke at the same time then glared daggers at each other. Miss Munroe shook her head, looking angry and disappointed. "I expected better from you guys. Is it too much to ask for the two of you to get along?"

"But –!"

"No excuses!" she snapped. "That's it. I'm giving you detention."

"What?!" John exclaimed. "It's summer!"

"But you're staying in school, which means there are still rules. However, since these _are_ special circumstances, you're going to serve a different kind of detention." She seemed to relish what she said next. "The two of you will clean the fountain."

"What?"

"The fountain?" Kitty was dismayed. "The one with the green, mossy, yucky things growing in it?"

"Yes, the very same," their teacher nodded. "You better get started then. It's a _big _fountain. And, for heaven's sake, get John out of that wall."

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"The scum isn't going to vaporize by just looking at it, Pryde," John Allerdyce said testily. "Unless you've got lasers shooting out of your eyes and you can just blast them to oblivion."

She scowled at him. "This is totally your fault, you know. You're the only person in the world who can get detention even during the summer. And you had to drag me into it, too."

He shrugged. "Yeah. It's my most cherished dream, spending detention with you," he retorted. "Now let's get to it. I'm not gonna clean this up by myself." He started to work. Kitty, very reluctantly, followed his example. They worked in silence for several minutes. While they were working, John couldn't help but notice that Kitty was looking ill.

"Hey, what's the matter with you?" he asked.

"I just – I really don't like this!"

"Oh, yeah? Princess Kitty never got her hands slimy before?" he jeered.

"No! It's just – I'm scared!"

"Scared? Of what?" He was incredulous.

"When I was six, my parents and I were on a road trip when our car broke down. We had to check into this really horrible little motel while we got it fixed and the motel had this toxic-looking pool there. I fell into it and I almost drowned. I had nightmares after that about the stuff growing in that pool," she recalled. "This reminds me a lot of that particular childhood trauma."

He was quiet for a second, and then he said, "Pryde, that is the lamest childhood trauma I have ever heard of."

And, just like that, he had annoyed her. Again. "You are an insensitive jerk, John Allerdyce!"

"Hey, since we're talking childhood traumas, – I was four years old. A guy in our neighborhood had this huge Saint Bernard I used to play with. Then one day that dog got rabies. It chased me and I was lucky I was able to lock myself in my mom's car before it got me. But the stupid thing didn't give up, though. It was pounding on the windows and I was crying and it took hours before somebody found me. Now _that _gave me nightmares."

Kitty was horrified. "Oh, my God! You were four? How awful! I'm so sorry!"

"Yeah," he shook his head sadly. "Cujo was such a good dog."

Something clicked in her brain then. "Cujo?" Then she remembered. "You asshole! That was a book!"

He grinned wickedly. "You gullible little thing."

She tried to glare at him but, instead, she found herself trying to fight back an answering grin. He was such a jerk. She turned away and went back to work so she didn't see the odd look he gave her. They didn't speak again until the job was finished.

"I officially never want to touch anything like this ever again!" Kitty swore, looking at her hands like she was afraid they were going to rot and fall off at any second.

"You wore gloves. You didn't _actually_ touch anything," John pointed out.

"Still," she insisted, "there might have been microscopic particles that got into the pores of my skin and I'm going to start mutating into some kind of scum monster."

"You watch too much television, Pryde," he said.

She looked at him. "Why do you always call me by my last name?" she asked. "You're the only one who does that."

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I guess I don't know you well enough to call you anything else."

"Oh, but you call me a lot of things. Short girl, Nerdy, Ghostie, Casper," she enumerated. "Calling me by my last name is actually the only polite term you have for me."

"Where are you going with this?"

"I'd like you to call me Kitty. And I'd like you to stop making fun of me while you're at it." She sounded very serious so he would know that she meant it. "No more pranks and no more teasing, not the hurtful kind anyway. And definitely no more fireballs. If not forever, then at least for the rest of the summer."

"And what if I'm not okay with it?" He seemed amused at her show of toughness.

"If you don't go for this then we can spend the next few months fighting like cats and dogs and, trust me, I will show no mercy. And, I'm sure that Miss Munroe will show no mercy either and she'll make us clean more disgusting stuff, like the boys' bathrooms."

He was thoughtful. "Okay. You have a deal. Or a ceasefire, at least."

She smiled and nodded. "Good." She turned on her heel and walked back to the mansion.

John watched her go. Then he shook his head in annoyance. "The microscopic particles have gone to your head, Dice," he grumbled. He just knew that he was going to be sorry for making that little deal.

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The next few days saw a marked improvement in the interaction between Kitty and John. Even Miss Munroe noticed that the two were friendlier to each other. Kitty stopped worrying about waking up with singed eyebrows and John, well, it was hard to figure out what he thought about the whole thing. But he was upholding his part of the deal and that was all that she really cared about.

Kitty spent a great part of her time reading. She even had a favorite spot on the school grounds for this activity. There was an old oak that stood in a secluded part of the property and it had a large swing with a backrest hanging from one of its sturdiest branches. She spent hours there, enjoying her solitude with an interesting book. Then the heat wave struck and even the charms of her little sanctuary couldn't take her mind off the wretched weather. She was roasting on the swing one day after grumpily snapping her book shut when who should come sauntering along but John Allerdyce.

He looked completely unaffected by the heat, and that just ticked her off. "Hey, make some room, will you?" He sat down on the swing with her.

That didn't improve her temper. "I was here first!" she snapped. "Sit on the ground."

He stared at her. "What's up with you?"

"Sorry," she mumbled apologetically. "It's this heat. It's getting on my nerves."

"And here I was thinking PMS," he responded.

"Oh, shut up!" She gave him an irritated look. "How come you're not sweating?"

"It's part of my mutation," he explained. "I can tolerate high temperatures." He picked up her book. "_Pride and Prejudice. _Is it any good?"

"Yeah. It's one of my favorites, actually."

"What's it about?"

"Well, it's about two people who don't get along from the moment they first meet but they get to know each other better and eventually they fall in love. It's better than my summary," she assured him.

He didn't look convinced. "I'll take your word for it." He handed the book back to her. "Damn, when will this summer end?" he suddenly exclaimed.

She was surprised. "Are you actually missing school?" she asked.

"What? Hell, no!" he said. "It's just that there's nothing going on. I mean, the highlight of each day is washing the dishes, for God's sake. This summer is boring!"

"That's because we're in school," she told him. "And it's only the three of us in the mansion."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Miss Munroe isn't exactly the party girl of the year. But - this is your first time to stay in school over the summer, right?" At her nod of assent, he continued, "Well, it wasn't like this last year. Last year, we had serious fun. Logan was here, and Rogue, and Peter Rasputin. We went out like every night then came back when it was morning already. There are usually a few kids who stay here and the Professor would let us have parties, nothing too crazy but still fun. But this year, forget it. Everybody else went home, and Logan and Marie decided to go on that wilderness trip in Canada, and even Bobby, who said he was going to stay in school, decided to go with them instead. And, sorry, but I'm not the outdoor type, so I got stuck here."

Kitty was hesitant to ask, but she wanted to know something. "Do you – do you always stay here in school, even during the summer?"

It took him a second to answer. "Yeah. I mean, it always used to be fun here during vacation time." He shrugged. "Well, what about you? Why are _you_ here?"

"My parents went to Europe. I didn't wanna go," she answered simply.

They were both quiet for a minute. "I don't get it why Bobby went on that trip, though," he said, changing the subject. "Never mind Logan and Rogue, they're both weird like that, but Bobby is civilization boy. That little iceprick couldn't find his way through the woods unless the paths are concrete."

Kitty gave him a knowing smile. "Oh, come on. Isn't it obvious?"

He frowned. "No. What are you getting at?"

"He didn't want Logan and Rogue to go alone, or together, I mean." She saw his face change when her meaning became clear to him.

"What?!" He looked creeped out. "That's – sick, and disgusting! Logan and Rogue? He's like a hundred, and that may even be true! Jesus, Pryde! Thank you for burning that horrible image into my brain! I am now psychologically scarred for the rest of my life!"

"Oh, like it's so impossible! Age doesn't matter, you know."

"If the guy's a hundred, it does!" he retorted. "But at least nothing can happen. Not while Rogue still can't control her powers."

"So what if she can't control it? He's got that healing factor thing. Even if she sucks his energy, he'll recover. It's still totally workable between them."

"Oh, my God!" He shook his head slowly. "It _is_ workable. No wonder Bobby's worried. That poor fuck."

Kitty laughed at his expression. He gave her a sidelong glance and smirked. "I wonder what other twisted little thoughts you've got in that head of yours, Pryde," he told her. "I'm starting to fear you."

"Yeah, you better fear me. And I thought I told you to call me Kitty," she reminded him.

"Sure," he nodded, "Kitty."

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She had just finished emailing her parents when there was a knocking at her bedroom door. When she went to open it, she was surprised to see that it was John. Before she could say anything, he pushed his way inside and shut the door, gesturing for her to be silent. "What's going on?" she whispered, a bit alarmed by his sudden appearance.

"I have this great idea," he whispered back.

"And you just had to share it with me in the middle of the night?"

"Yeah." He grinned, and there was mischief dancing in his eyes. "I checked and Miss Munroe is fast asleep."

"So?"

"_So,_" he took something out of his jacket pocket and jiggled it in front of her face. It was a key. "Let's go for a drive."

"_What?_" She was suddenly very nervous. "Are you crazy? You cannot be suggesting what I think you're suggesting!"

"That we sneak out, take one of the cars, specifically Cyclops' car, and hit the town? Pryde, you're brilliant!" He beamed at her.

"No!" She shook her head and crossed her arms. "Absolutely not. You're going to get us both in so much trouble. There's no way I'm going along with this. Forget it. It's insane. Count me out!"

"If I get expelled, I'm going to kill you," she swore grimly as she helped him push the car out of the garage later on. They didn't want to risk the chance of waking Miss Munroe with the sound of the car starting.

"Positive thoughts, Pryde. Positive thoughts," he huffed. "I've done this lots of times and I've never been caught."

"Well, there's a first time for everything." She was panting from the exertion.

"Okay. This is far enough. Get in." He took his place behind the driver's seat. She remained immobile. He let out a little sigh of annoyance. "Are you coming or not?"

She took a deep breath and crossed her fingers. "Fine! I'm coming!" She settled herself on the passenger seat. "John – please, _please_," she begged, "don't get us into trouble."

"Trouble? Me?" He revved the engine, and they were off.

"Let's go see a dirty movie," he suggested as they cruised around town.

"No!" She was scandalized.

"Go to a bar?"

"No."

"What about some drag racing?"

"John!"

"All right! All right," he laughed. "Nothing fun then. What do you wanna do?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

He thought for a minute. "I know. I'll take you to the clock tower."

"Where?"

"The clock tower. I think you're gonna like it."

He drove till they had almost reached the town limits. Then he took the car off the road and down a path through some woods. They went uphill a good bit before they finally reached their destination. It was an old building ringed by a wooden fence that had several Keep Out and No Trespassing signs around it. John, being John, just ignored all the signs and climbed over the fence. "Your turn," he called out to Kitty once he was on the other side. "Climb over and I'll catch you."

She just rolled her eyes then phased through the barrier.

"Right," he nodded, looking sheepish. "Hey! How come you let _me_ climb the damn thing?"

"I wanted to see you suffer," she replied cheerfully.

He scowled at her. Then he turned away before she could see that the scowl had become a smile instead. "Come on." He led the way inside the clock tower. "You wanna be careful on the stairs. They're a bit unstable." He got his lighter and created a small fireball then sent it floating before them for illumination. He took hold of her hand as they were going up and she was a bit startled at this unexpected gallantry. "Careful," he cautioned again and they picked their way up the flight of steps very cautiously, making sure that they didn't place a foot on a bad spot and have the whole thing come crashing down beneath them. "Here we are." He pushed against a trapdoor and they both climbed up. "It's cool, huh?"

Kitty looked around. "Yeah," she nodded, smiling, "In a creepy, horror movie way."

There was a flash of disappointment in his eyes which he quickly concealed. "You haven't seen everything yet." Curiously, she watched as he pressed something against the wall and the face of the huge clock divided down the very middle then swung open like a window.

"Wow," she exhaled when the view was revealed to her.

The lights of the town twinkled in the distance, as did the stars above it in the night sky. "It's lovely," she said and smiled at him. "John, this is great."

"Yeah." He shrugged. "It's okay."

She laughed. Looking like an excited child, she sat down at the very opening and dangled her feet over the edge. "I feel like Peter Pan, in that cartoon, you know."

"You're more like Tinkerbell," he told her, "Small and all that."

"John Allerdyce," she gave him an irritated look, "you're ruining the moment."

He chuckled at her expression and then sat down beside her. They fell into an easy silence.

"How did you know about this place?" she asked after a while.

"School assignment," he answered to her surprise. "During my first year at the Institute, Miss Grey had us research the history of the town. This tower was built sometime in the late 1800s and it was closed during the Fifties. Since then it's been just rotting here."

"That's sad. They should have kept up the place."

"Yeah." He studied her in the semi-darkness. "So, you like it here?"

She nodded. "Yes. Thank you for showing this to me."

They stayed there for a few hours, talking about anything that came to mind. Finally, reluctantly, they decided to go back to the school. They went down the stairs, Kitty leading the way this time; another fireball giving off light for them. They were almost at the very bottom when she looked back at John with a smile. He stumbled. "Shit!" He fell and the fireball winked out.

"John! John! Are you okay?" Kitty felt for him in the sudden darkness.

"I'm good." He stood up, feeling a bit disoriented.

"Where are you? I can't see anything!"

"Here!" Moving around blindly, his hands brushed against her hair. "Kitty?"

"Yeah?" She must have turned and faced him because he felt her soft breath against his neck. She was very close. His heart started to race.

They stood like that in the darkness, listening to each other breathe. She could feel something was happening and her hands began to tremble.

And unseeingly, unerringly, their lips met in a kiss.

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"What is wrong with you two?" Miss Munroe sighed over breakfast the next morning. "I thought you guys were getting along. Have you been fighting again?"

"No," Kitty said. She didn't look up from her plate, though. John remained silent.

"Well, I hope you work it out. I don't want to be the one who has to explain to the Professor what happened if the mansion burns down." She gave a very pointed glance at John. Despite her best efforts, however, her two charges were stubbornly noncommittal on the reason for their latest friction.

After breakfast, Kitty practically ran out of the kitchen and locked herself in her room. She wasn't sure exactly why she was acting like this. She just knew that she couldn't think straight with John Allerdyce around.

Something major had happened last night. The two of them had kissed, and it had felt – wonderful. And that was only one of the many things wrong about it. They had kissed. She had enjoyed it. She had enjoyed being with him. She was starting to have feelings for him and she couldn't stop thinking about him and their kiss, and he was actually kind of sweet on very rare occasions, and – oh, God! – did he like her? He didn't just kiss her because she was _convenient _or anything like that?

"Kitty?" A knock sounded on her door. "Can I come in?"

Oh, God.

She opened the door and smiled uncertainly. "Hi," she greeted him. "Come on in."

He came in and sat on the chair by her study table. She sat on her bed facing him.

"About last –"

"Listen, I –"

They both stopped. "You go first," she told him.

"Okay." He nodded. "I – don't know what came over me last night. It was totally unplanned, and unexpected. I didn't mean to make things weird between us."

"Oh. I see. Well," she shrugged, "it was kinda out of nowhere."

"Yeah." He stared at his shoes like they were very interesting.

"I mean, I knew it was just something random. I know you don't like me like that." He looked at her and opened his mouth to speak but she went on hurriedly. "I don't like you like that either, so you don't have to worry." He became quiet. "I guess it was just the mood. These things happen, and we've been spending quite a good bit of time together. It's just – a summer thing."

"You're right," he agreed. He began flicking his lighter on and off absentmindedly. He didn't look at her anymore. "So," he stood up, "glad that we got that straightened out."

"Of course." She stood up, too.

"I'll see you around," he said then walked out of the room. He closed the door carefully behind him.

Kitty sighed and sat back down on the bed. "Really glad that we got that straightened out," she mumbled to herself.

Professor Xavier arrived back from Scotland the next day. Mr. Summers and Miss Grey just dropped him off at the Institute then they left again. They wanted to catch up with Logan, Rogue and Bobby on their camping trip. Miss Munroe left, too, to visit some of her friends in New Orleans. With her gone, along with her cooking skills, the Professor simply made arrangements with a local restaurant to prepare and deliver their meals to the mansion. They still ate in the kitchen, though, and Kitty and John still took turns doing the dishes.

Things had been awkward between them since their last talk. Except during mealtimes, they avoided each other. They went on like this until the week before the new school term was due to start and the teachers and students started to come back.

"Why don't the two of you go out?" the Professor suggested during breakfast one morning.

They both stared at him in surprise.

"You've both stayed in during the summer," he glanced at them knowingly, "more or less. You deserve a night out. I hear there's a free concert in town tonight."

"I don't think – " John began, but the Professor cut him off.

"I insist," he said. "The two of you go and have fun."

John suspected that the old man must have worked some telepathic mojo on them since he found himself agreeing to the plan. Kitty said yes, too. Or maybe Xavier was just very intimidating, especially when he got that flinty look in his eyes. But, whatever the reason, that night they found themselves getting ready for a date. Of a sort.

The concert was in the park. Kitty was uncomfortably aware that most of the people there seemed to be couples. Everywhere she turned she saw couples holding hands, couples snuggling, couples kissing. "Stupid, interfering telepaths," she muttered under her breath.

"You say something?" John wondered.

"No. Nothing."

"I don't feel like fighting through that crowd." John eyed the people swarming in front of the stage with aversion. "Why don't we just sit here?" he suggested. "Listen from a distance."

"Sure. Whatever."

He started to take off his jacket but Kitty had already and rather gracelessly plopped down on the grass. He suppressed a sigh and settled himself beside her.

_"And it's you and me in the summertime. We'll be hand in hand there in the park."_

"These guys are okay," he commented.

"Yeah," she agreed. They didn't speak again.

A group of kids appeared and spread out a picnic blanket nearby. One of the girls approached them. "Hey," she smiled. "Care to join us? We've got beer."

"Uhm, no thanks." John shook his head.

"I'm Leigh. What's your name?" She only had eyes for Pyro.

"John."

"Nice to meet you, John. Come on," she urged. "Join our party."

"I'm kinda here with someone already," he told her.

The girl seemed to see Kitty for the first time. "Your little sister?"

"I'm _not _– his sister." Kitty didn't like this girl with her blond hair and her blue eyes and her obviously surgically-improved nose.

Leigh smirked. "A cousin?"

Something that sounded a lot like a growl came from Kitty's throat.

"Kitty?"

"What?"

They were cleaning the pool the next day.

"Why'd you punch that girl?" he wanted to know.

"She insulted my shoes." She didn't look at him.

"_After_ you told her she looked like a teen hooker."

"No one gets away with insulting my choice of footwear."

"Okay." He quickly smothered a grin.

"I saw that, John Allerdyce!"

"Saw what?"

"You were laughing at me!"

"I wasn't!"

"There was definite amusement in your expression."

"Pryde, you're certifiably insane!" He shook his head. "This does not bode well for our impending relationship."

"Our impending _what_?" She stared at him, wide-eyed.

He just smiled.

It was late afternoon when they finished cleaning the pool. Kitty thought that they had done a sloppy job but John absolutely refused to continue working. "It's gonna be filled up with water and it'll cover everything."

"Water's transparent, John," she pointed out.

"Okay, Miss Science. I'm exhausted. I'm done with this."

"I have an idea," she said. "Let's go for a drive."

He grinned at her.

They did it properly this time. They asked the Professor's permission to borrow one of the cars. He told them to take Logan's old truck, much to John's disgust. They drove fast, singing along to the beat-up radio, and they reached the beach just before sunset.

After a brief swim, they sat on the shore.

Kitty glanced at John and smiled. "Great summer, huh?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Great summer."

He held her hand as the sun went down.

The End

(Songs: Seven Days in the Sun by Feeder, First of Summer by Urbandub, and Summertime by The Sundays.)


End file.
